Gunshots as Abia youths show the way, attack terrorists, rescue kidnap victims

•They beat me, threatened to kill me for speaking Igbo on phone—kidnapped widow

•I fought back determined not to die alone—Tricycle operator

By Steve Oko

UMUAHIA — In a rare display of bravery never witnessed before since terrorists have been attacking communities, abducting residents across the country, youths of Ohuhu community in Abia state mobilised and stormed the forest in pursuit of Fulani terrorists who had kidnapped two members of the community. After about four hours of confrontation, the terrorists were confused and had to flee, abandoning their victims.

Last month, terrorists abducted 39 pupils and students including toddlers of two schools in Oyo state and seven of their teachers. They are still being held in the bush by their abductors. Same day, another set of students were abducted in Borno and they are also still in captivity.

The story is the same all over the country. From Katsina to Zamfara, Borno, Niger, Kogi, Benue, Plateau, Kwara, Oyo, terrorists attacked communities, kidnapping residents many of whom died in custody after months of being unable to pay the huge ransom being demanded.

Thousands of kidnap victims are at present being held captive by these terrorists across the country but members of the various communities are helpless.

In Abia state however, courageous youths of Ohuhu community seemed to show the way for other communities as they decided to take the risk when they mobilised themselves to go after the Fulani terrorists to rescue the abducted members of their community; a male commercial tricycle operator and a widow.

Narrating their ordeal in the hands of their abductors, the rescued residents of the community said they never believed they would come out of the bush alive and commended the youths for their uncommon courage in confronting the terrorists in the forest.

For Mrs Onyinyechi Jonathan Ekechukwu, a widow, mother of four and grandmother of three from Umuawa Alocha in Ohuhu clan, Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State, Wednesday, June 10, was supposed to be another ordinary day of hard work on the farm. Like any other day since the death of her husband, a school teacher, in 2015, the peasant farmer had gone to her farm in search of a means of sustaining her family and meeting the burden of raising their children, including a son currently studying at the University of Benin, Edo State.

But what began as a routine trip to harvest cassava soon turned into a terrifying journey into the hands of armed bandits. After harvesting cassava, the widow called a commercial tricycle operator from the same community, Mr Dennis Okechi, to transport the produce home. But unknown to them, danger was lurking along the pathway leading back to the village.

Her account:

“We were already riding home when we were suddenly stopped on the way by Fulani bandits who jumped out from the bush. They dragged us out of the Keke and marched us into the bush. We pleaded with them to have mercy on us but they threatened to kill us if we shouted.

“When the Keke operator kept shouting, they actually wanted to kill him. At that point, I decided to stop shouting and started praying silently in my heart. At one point, the boy attempted to escape but they stabbed him, blindfolded him and kept moving us from one place to another inside the bush.

“When they abducted us about 3:00 p.m, the six-man gang collected our phones and kept moving us through the thick forest until about 10:00 p.m. when they brought out our phones and asked us to call our people for ransom. They said we should pay N10 million.

“So, when they gave me my phone, I called my husband’s brother’s wife and told her we were in captivity. The bandits immediately hit me and snatched the phone, threatening to kill me for speaking Igbo with the person I contacted. I told them I could not communicate fluently in English and had to speak Igbo. They kicked me again and I told them they would lose everything including the ransom if they killed me.

“While in captivity, I kept praying for divine intervention and protection against possible abuse or death. I kept praying to God to send confusion into their midst and not allow them hurt or abuse me. One of them kept telling me that he was the one restraining others from touching me. He said we should cooperate by telling our people to bring the ransom fast if we love our lives. Eventually we arrived at a place known as Ikeotuonye, a resting point usually used by farmers carrying heavy loads from their farms.

“They later took us away again and crossed a river. They ate my bread and Canmalt, then brought out garri and asked if we would eat but we declined the offer. Shortly afterwards, we started hearing gunshots followed by flashes of torchlight from our youths on a rescue mission. When their advancement became more intense and closer, the bandits suspected that they were being surrounded by the search party. Sensing danger, the bandits abandoned us, crossed the river and fled. It was at that point that we started shouting and the youths, who had stormed the forest in their numbers, quickly located us and rescued us,” she narrated.

Mrs Ekechukwu said her ordeal brought her face-to-face with the fear of never seeing her children again, especially her son at the University of Benin who had called her earlier that day while she was still harvesting cassava.

“ He just wanted to hear my voice. How would he cope with the news of my death if the bandits had carried out their threat to kill us? My thoughts went to how my son would feel when he was told the story and remembered our last conversation. “That thought made me pray harder to God so I could set my eyes on my son again. I thank God He answered my prayers,” she said emotionally.

Speaking further, the widow identified the abductors as Fulani bandits, saying they spoke Fulani language “which is different from ordinary Hausa.”

She lamented that herdsmen had repeatedly invaded farmlands in the community with their cattle, destroying crops without any consequence despite complaints by the locals. The widow then called on the government to take decisive action against open grazing and prevent armed herders and strangers from penetrating forests and farmlands in rural communities.

Mrs Ekechukwu also commended the youths of Ohuhu land for their uncommon courage and determination in confronting criminal elements, saying their swift response and resilience became the saving grace that brought them back alive.

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